+ On the same Lord's Day Angels appeared to the women. +

+ On the same day Peter and John came to the Sepulchre. +

+ On the same day He appeared to Magdalen. +

+ On the same day He appeared to the women. +

+ On the same day He appeared to two disciples on the way to Emmaus. +

+ On the same day He appeared to the disciples in the absence of Thomas. +

+ He appeared to the disciples and Thomas. +

+ Our Lord appears to seven disciples by the Sea of Tiberias. +

+ Jesus breakfasts with seven disciples. +

+ Our Lord appears on Mount Thabor. +

Mystic Monk Coffee - from the Traditional Carmelite Monks of Wyoming

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Our Lady's Garden, 2007 - 2010. Update.

"Our Lady's Garden."

Chant of theSalve Reginaon the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, 2010.

2007 - 2010

Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes11 February 2007.

The future greenhouse blessed for the Queen of Heavenas"Our Lady's Garden"

Brother Paul Mary in the trenches.4 May 2007A lot of work was done.

And a few days later, same trench:

Fr. Anthony laying the raised bed over it.

Since May 2007 we have seen Our Lady's Gardentaking shape,we are still experimenting on what worksand what doesn't.

16 July 2010Update

Grapes were planted last year.

Pruning the Grapes.

I am the true vine and my Father is the husbandman.Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he will take away:and every one that beareth fruit,he will prune it that it may bring forth more fruit.(Jn. 15:1)

Fr. Anthony's Peach Tree.

Some of us doubtedthe introduction of a peach treeto Papa Stronsay!

From the beginning,when the tree was but a spindle in a pot,it produced abundant peachesalthough those first ones were but the size of golf balls.

This year they were large, soft and brimming with juice.

Could these be the most northerly peaches in the world?

Fr. Anthony's Peach Treewas a very successful introduction.

...the wilderness shall rejoice, and shall flourish like the lily. (Is. 35:1)We have produced our own flowers for the altar since March.

Br. Yousef Marie with the Jerusalem Artichokes.

Nectarines.

The Passion Flower.

Doing well but it didn't need to be inside.

Corgettes everywhere.

The tomatoes are in abundance.

Post Scriptum.

11 May 2007the planting of the Kiwifruit vines!Understandable perhaps,(rich in Vitaman C)we were hopeful,but alas!

It flourished and remains fruitlessthree years,a failure!2007 - 2010.

"Behold for three years I come seeking fruit on this and I find none.Cut it down therefore,Why cumbereth it the ground?"

But he answering, said to him:Lord, let it alone this year also,until I dig about it and dung it.And if happily it bear fruit:but if not,then after that thou shalt cut it down.(Lk. 13:6)

(2 male and 4 female Kiwifruit vines are growing togethertheir fruitlessness is probably due to our degrees of latitude (59.2° North).The sun remains close to the horizon at this latitudeand there may not be sufficient sun intensity to bring forth flowers for fruit.)

15 comments:

Wonderful photographs; 'by their fruits you shall know them' -this must surely apply to the F.SS.R. I have to admit that the 5 star photograph in my book is .........'Brother Yousef Marie with the Jerusalem Artichokes' - superb!There are many other superlatives that I could use, but I don't want to overdo it! A simple, but heartfelt 'thanks' for a great post.

Don't pull them out yet.Miracles of Grace occur with man, so why not with the less complicated Kiwi Fruit? It is by no means tropical here in North East Victoria, Australia, but there is a flourishing Kiwifruit Orchard nearby. Let me ask them for some advice! Wait...

How to grow (Maybe you can adapt this for Scottish Conditions???):Kiwi fruit will grow in most of temperate Australia - and with careful placement even in areas that seem unlikely.

Kiwi fruit MUST have chilling - 700 hours below 7°C; MUST have well drained soil; MUST have good watering for the first three years; MUST have mulch and water when the temperature is over 35°C for the first three years; and you MUST have a male and a female vine (or nine females to one male - but one to two females are more than enough for a kiwi fruit addicted family and all their friends and birds. Avoid male and females grafted onto one vine - they almost always break down.)

If you've got all of those - it's easy.

Train your kiwi fruit onto a pergola, fence or up a tree in warmer climates. Be warned: the vine will get very big and heavy even if you prune it rigorously once a year - fences et al can well collapse under their weight.

The first year prune back to the central trunk, with two main arms. The fruit is produced on this year's shoots from last year's growth - in other words, you get fruit from one year old wood, and anything older needs to be pruned back. If you don't prune, you'll get a jungle that even Sleeping Beauty's Prince wouldn't be able to hack through and rats love to nest in the tangles. Every winter prune back vigorously - if you've trained it properly the first year or two, you'll have lots of long 'laterals' growing out of the two main arms. Keep about half of these and trim them back to a reasonable length. You'll also need to trim back any new laterals off the main arms in summer.

I know this seems complicated. In fact kiwi fruit are so vigorous that after five or six years, if you just cut it back to manageable size, you'll still have enough last year's wood and this year's shoots for masses of fruit. Just remember that if you do go for a very drastic cut back, you won't have any fruit next season.

HarvestFruit should appear after 2 - 3 years; some authorities recommend picking before frosts, but I find that frosts tenderise and sweeten them. Don't wait for the fruit to get ripe on the vine though - it doesn't. Pick and wait for anywhere from three days to two weeks for them to ripen indoors. The riper they are, the sooner they'll soften inside. If they don't taste sweet, they aren't ripe enough to pick and if they leave a furry taste on your tongue, they are definitely not ready. Note: Your home-grown fruit will be MUCH sweeter than shop bought stuff; and will have more flavour too - commercial kiwi fruit never seem to have much flavour at all, just vague sweetness and a hint of scent.

Pick the latest fruit first - kiwi fruit are best stored on the vine. We let the birds get most of ours - the display as they try to balance and peck is worth losing the fruit for - and, anyway, a few hundred kiwi fruit is more than enough for us.

I have found that the small amount of information I gleaned is, nevertheless, too large for this site, so I have emailed it to Br. Nicodemus (since he posted some relics, I have his email address). I do hope it may save the plants from being cut down!

I have been working in my kiwifruit orchard for the past 2 years Fr .1. Yes they do require winter chilling.2. Prune as in previous post after leaf fall.The canes can be tied up on wires.3.Remove any suckers coming out the base of plant or up the main trunk 4 Wait and see if there are any flower buds in spring and remove buds either side of triples. You want female singles only but leave the males they are more prolific but have a job to do and can be pruned back after flowering.5.Snap off non fruiting shoots and squeeze shoot ends to stop them growing wild.6 If you get flowers, hand pollinate by taking male flowers and brushing onto female unless you have good bees?The fruit forms quickly so you will see results soon if successful but then take 5 months to mature. Fertilise 4 times year and good luck.

Now I'm no gardener - not at all - but if the problem really would be lack of sunlight, a strategically placed mirror might help a lot. Of course, one should be careful not to overdo it, but reflected sunlight is as good as the real thing.

Antisetimism

"Mark well that in the Catholic Mass, Abraham is our Patriarch and forefather. Antisemitism is incompatible with the lofty thought which that fact expresses. It is a movement with which we Christians can have nothing to do. No, no, I say to you it is impossible for a Christian to take part in Antisemitism. It is inadmissible. Through Christ and in Christ we are the spiritual progeny of Abraham. Spiritually, we [Christians] are all Semites."

Pope Pius XI

6 September 1938

Arms of the Royal House of Stuart

Arms of the Cardinal King Henry

King Henry IX of England, France and Ireland; King Henry I of Scotland; Defender of the Faith. 30 January 1788 - 26 September, 1803.